


Make It Stick

by wesawbears



Category: All For the Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: F/F, Other, all canon ships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-07
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-08-07 06:16:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7703713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wesawbears/pseuds/wesawbears
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A gymnastics au that is a mix of The Foxhole Court and the movie Stick It! Featuring all female foxes because I know more about women's gymnastics than men's. Forced to choose between jail and hiding in plain sight from her father with the Palmetto Foxes, Lia Josten walks back into the world of elite gymnastics and has to deal with the band of misfits she meets in the gym on the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Lia stared at the officers in front of her and carefully kept her mouth from twitching. She didn’t want to feel her face slipping into her father’s features, not when she had spent so long separating herself from him in every way. She dyed her hair, she wore contacts; everything about her current identity was solid. There was no trace of Natalie Wesninski here.

Still, she wasn’t safe. She had made a rookie mistake and gotten caught. She could hear her mother’s voice in her head screaming about how she lingered too long and got sloppy. And now the cops had her for breaking and entering, and since she was freshly eighteen, there was no way she wouldn’t go to jail for it. It’s not like she had a lawyer and she was a nobody. They wouldn’t hesitate to lock her up.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the officer in front of her slamming his hand down on the table. “Do you have a hearing problem?”

Lia leaned back in her chair. “Nope. Just a cop problem.”

“Well, this cop has the power to get you out of this. So you might want to drop the attitude.”

Lia said nothing, but gestured for him to explain. When he saw that he wasn’t going to get any further reaction from her, he went on, saying, “There’s someone here who wants to see you. I’ll let him explain.”

At that, Lia’s eyes widened, and she jerked at the cuff that kept her chained to the table. Any ‘he’s from her past were guaranteed to be bad news, and she didn’t intend on being restrained when they came knocking.

When she saw who it was that walked through the door, she slumped in her chair and groaned. “No. No way.”

Coach David Wymack was the head coach at the Palmetto Gym. It housed an experimental group of gymnasts, all wildly talented, but troubled, and with notorious attitude problems. 

“You’re not even going to hear me out?”

“I don’t compete anymore. You know that.”

“Because you don’t want to or because you’re too afraid to?”

“Fuck you.”

Lia hadn’t done a gymnastics competition since she was 15. All anyone knew was that she had walked out with one event left at Worlds and no one had heard of her since. Or so she thought.

No one bothered to learn why she had left either. Her worth to the empire that owned her father, the Moriyamas, was contingent on Natalie’s performance. When it looked like she wasn’t going to place, her mother had snuck her out and they hadn’t looked back. 

Wymack held his hands out, “You’d really rather go to jail?”

“It’s too public of a stage. You know that.”

“Or just public enough.” The voice came from behind Wymack. Kathryn Day was one of the most prized gymnasts in the Moriyama Gym, until she suffered a devastating knee injury two years ago. Since then, she was Wymack’s assistant. It was a strange choice of gym, until you considered the rest of the cast of characters that trained there. Most notably was the girl right behind Kathryn.

Andrea Minyard was a talented, but unpredictable gymnast. Wymack was the only one crazy enough to put up with her, and the band of misfits that came with her. Andrea offered a specific brand of protection, and like Kathryn said, the most valuable protection against the Moriyama’s wrath came in her visibility.

“You’d know all about hiding in plain sight, wouldn’t you?” Lia spat back.

Kathryn only rolled her eyes. “Stop being stubborn. You think it won’t be easy for them to find you in jail? They have eyes everywhere. At least with us you’ll be interesting enough to keep around.”

At that, Andrea let out a sharp laugh. “That’s debatable.”

“Easy,” Wymack said, pointing a warning finger in Andrea’s direction. Andrea held her hands up in mock defeat and moved to lean against the doorframe. 

“Natalie-” Kathryn started, but was immediately cut off.

“No,” Lia barked, “You do not get to call me that. My name is Lia.”

“You really think they won’t recognize you when you compete?”

“When?”

“You’re being stupid.”

“And you’re being an asshole!”

Andrea laughed again and said, “Please, Kathryn, can we keep her? I like someone who actually knocks you down a peg.”  
Kathryn glared at her, but said nothing.

Wymack tried one last time, “Look, kid, the cop’s going to come back in here any minute and he’s gonna want your decision. We have a plane ticket for you if you want it. It’ll be a lot worse for you in jail.”

Lia let out a frustrated sigh. She knew the points they made were good. She couldn’t fool herself into thinking that she wouldn’t be recognized, but as long as she was making headlines again she would be the biggest story in the business and her father’s men couldn’t afford to come after her. It was a risk, a risk her mother wouldn’t have tolerated, but in truth, it would be better than jail. She missed it, the feeling of flying, feeling like she could do anything. 

“When do we start?”

Wymack smiled and Kathryn looked smarmy and triumphant. Andrea had gone back to looking bored and staring at the back of Kathryn’s head, but Lia didn’t expect anything else.

When the officer in charge of her case came back in, Wymack informed him of Lia’s decision and the officer uncuffed her. She rolled her wrist carefully to make sure everything was still in working order and then stood, popping her joints on the way up. She saw Kathryn’s mouth twitch in annoyance, but she stayed thankfully silent.

On the way out, Andrea leaned in close and said, “Better luck next time.”

Lia responded with a “fuck you”, but Andrea didn’t seem to be paying attention to her anymore.

As Lia heard the door close shut behind her, she couldn’t help but think that it sounded a lot like a cell door slamming shut.


	2. Chapter 2

Lia spent the night on Coach Wymack’s couch. It wasn’t the most comfortable sleep she had ever had, but after 3 years of squatting it certainly wasn’t the worst either. Still, with the knowledge that she would be back in the gym tomorrow, her back wished she had a more solid foundation for the night.

She woke when Coach did, when she heard the water run for coffee at 5 AM. She groaned and stretched the muscles in her back, not looking forward to being back on the typical training schedule. Since it was summer, there weren’t classes to give them a break, so they’d be at the gym from 7 until whenever Coach (and Kathryn) decided they were done.

She hitched a ride with Coach, though after practice today she would be living in the dorms with the rest of the team and would therefore have to ride back with them, a fact she wasn’t particularly looking forward to. They pulled into a parking spot and Lia noted that Andrea’s car, and therefore their entire group, was already in the parking lot.

Noting the direction of her gaze, Coach said, “Kathryn likes to get an early start.”

Lia grimaced at the memory, but followed him into the building. She was able to keep her breathing calm as they walked through the lobby area. She focused on the smell of cleaning supplies and the stark whiteness of the walls so that she could imagine she was just in any other building.

There was no mistaking where she was once Wymack opened the large double doors leading to the gym though. Lia beheld the open space with equal parts wonder and terror. The room had a an impossibly high ceiling, and there were bleachers on the side with alternating white and orange, which hurt to look at for too long. Off to one side was a training area, with trampolines and a foam pit for practicing dismounts and tumbling passes. 

The other side held the apparatuses, a vaulting horse, uneven bars, the beam and a huge floor. Lia felt her breath catch as she looked at them. She walked over to the vault and placed her hand on it like you would a skittish pony. In her heyday, vault had been her event. She was fast, but powerful and she could get a lot of air with her height. The combination created a perfect storm.

“Oh hell no,” she heard behind her. Wymack was fast approaching. “You’ve been out of rotation for three years, there’s no way I’m letting you jump back in without training. Your muscles have probably gone to shit. Until you get cleared by Abby that you’re healthy and me that you’re ready, you can stretch out and practice over there.”

He pointed to the trampolines and Lia knew her face must have twisted into something ugly because she heard a laugh. She turned to see Andrea sitting on the high bar of the uneven bars. “Oh how the mighty have fallen.”

Before Lia could respond, Wymack called out, “Andrea Josephine Minyard, get off of that bar. If you break it, you bought it. Either you’re practicing or you’re on the ground.”

Andrea scowled, but swung down to meet her group, who had apparently just finished stretching. Kathryn moved to take her place next to Andrea, and slower behind them was Aaryn Minyard and Nicole Hemmick. Aaryn was the spitting image of her twin, permanent scowl and all. Nicole was more surprising, both because of her looks, height, and seemingly perpetual smile. She was the only one who approached Lia.

“Hi! I’m Nicky. Hopefully those two haven’t scared you off already,” she said, offering a handshake and a sympathetic smile. 

“I can handle myself,” Lia answered simply.

Nicky laughed. “Everyone’s super excited to have you here. You’re kind of a legend. Dan’s excited to have someone else to help hold us up on the vault. She’s been running herself ragged. They’re not here today, but you’ll meet them tomorrow.”

“It’ll probably be a while before I’m of any use.”

Nicky continued beaming. “That’s okay! We’re here to help whip you into shape. Though I will say Kathryn’s been trying for months with us and still thinks we’re hopeless.”

Kathryn rolled her eyes. “I’d say you’d be less hopeless if you were practicing right now, but I’ve seen you practice so I know that’s a lie.”

“Enough chatter. You can gossip on your own time. You four know where to go. You, trampoline, now. Let’s see what you’ve still got.”

They headed off in different directions, Andrea back to the bars, Aaryn to the vault, Kathryn to the beam and Nicky to the floor. Lia wanted to watch them and see what the season would hold, but sighed and followed Wymack to the trampoline. She took her time stretching, knowing her muscles needed it after so much time off. She hopped up onto the trampoline and bounced experimentally a few times before gaining enough height to do a simple flip. At least, she thought it was simple until she landed sloppily and fell to her knees.

She ignored the sharp bark of a laugh she heard from the other side of the gym and tried again. This time, she landed it, but she couldn’t help noticing all the flaws. Too much leg separation, flexed feet. Stupid things to miss and she knew that the second Kathryn wasn’t focused on her own routine she would get right to barking at Lia. Still, she knew how it worked; until she could feel solid about a skill on the trampoline, she couldn’t attempt it on the apparatus. That thought was enough motivation to have her trying again.

By the time she stopped for a water break, her muscles ached from repetition and she knew sleep wouldn’t be easy tonight. She moved to the mat and stretched out again, mostly to give her an excuse to watch her new teammates.

Aaryn was alright on vault. Her small stature gave her an advantage, but her level of difficulty was not high enough to give her any real presence on the apparatus. Still, Lia knew from watching statistics that Aaryn was by no means the worst for vault on the team. Lia was simply more critical because it was her best event.

Andrea, on the other hand, was completely in her element on the bars. She flew like she had a personal vendetta against the equipment. Lia watched as she transitioned from the low bar to the high bar, landing heavily and leading the equipment to bounce unnaturally. The power she had made her untouchable, but it lacked finesse and Lia knew that the careless treatment of the apparatus wouldn’t win her any favors from the judges. It was a good routine, but not one that would help the team.

Kathryn on the beam was astounding to watch, if only because it was the same apparatus she had injured herself on a year ago. The fact that she was back up was amazing, but for Lia, who knew exactly what kind of difficulty Kathryn was capable of at her best, it was a bit disheartening. Still, to see her land on the beam without even a wobble on an only recently recovered knee was a feat Lia had to give her credit for.

Nicky on floor was admittedly sloppy, but fun to watch. Lia had always envied gymnasts who could smile on floor. Lia had always been too focused, leading her to look unsympathetic. Nicky bounced around with a lightness that was incongruous with her height and her long legs made her jumps look flawless. Her tumbling passes were less impressive, but not hopeless.

Lia drank some water and headed back to the trampoline, knowing she had a great deal of work to do.

\--

After a few hours of practice, the athletes moved to change in the locker room before heading back to the dorm. Once the gym, was empty, Lia moved back to the vault and stared at it for a long moment. She knew she wasn’t ready, but she had to try at least once just to prove that this was real. It was dangerous with no one around, but Lia had survived worse.

She ran toward the horse at full speed before throwing her hands onto the horse and doing a simple flip. She didn’t turn fast enough and her feet went out from under her. Thankfully, one of the first things she learned as a gymnast was how to fall well, and that instinct hadn’t come out of her, so she rolled over without any ill effects other than a bruised ego.

“You’re no use to me if you’re going to throw yourself out before you’re ready.”  
Lia looked up to see Kathryn staring down at her. “You already think I’m useless either way so what does it matter?”

“You want to prove to me that you’re worth it? Work your way up to the tricks you’re capable of on the trampoline and then we’ll see about getting you on vault. Until then, I have nothing to say to you.” She turned away, but paused and turned back to drop something onto Lia’s stomach. “Coach told me to give you these. Use them.”

Lia waited until Kathryn had turned away before feeling the keys that had been dropped on her stomach. She smiled past the pain in her muscles and rested her hand on them. Her joy lasted only a moment before she saw someone stop above her and she sat up. Andrea stared unblinkingly at her, no immediate expression on her face.

“How long do you think it’ll take you to break? I think you won’t make it through the summer.”

Lia was too tired to rise to the bait, so instead she said, “They say you don’t care. But you practically broke the bars from throwing tricks. You can’t do that and not care.”

“Can’t I?” Andrea said, tilting her head. With that, she started walking away, yelling over her shoulder, “If you’re planning on getting a ride back, we leave in five. Better run, runaway.”

Lia heaved herself up off the floor, already regretting how she would feel in the morning.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet the upperclassmen and Lia continues to be confused by Andrea.

Lia’s assumption that she would regret her work in the gym yesterday was absolutely correct as every muscle in her body screamed at her as she rolled out of bed. Literally rolled. She was too tired and sore to stand properly. She had taken an ice bath when she got home that night, but it was a chilly reminder that while it helped to keep her from swelling, it wasn’t pleasant and didn’t necessarily keep all of the unfortunate effects of training at bay, especially when she hadn’t trained in so long. Still, as she stretched out, she felt good. Every second she had in the gym was another second of freedom and her aching muscles were a constant reminder of that.

For now, her dorm room was empty, and because of that it felt too large. She didn’t have enough belongings to fill even the one dresser given to her, and the walls remained bare. She walked into the kitchenette, which currently housed only a few bottles of water and a box of granola bars, forcibly given to her by Coach. Her roommates, Mattie Boyd and Steph Gordon, would be moving in today though and would fill the space Lia couldn’t.

She was halfway through a granola bar when she heard the insistent bang of a door being thrown open. Lia jumped and mentally ran through the catalogue of all the people it could be and her potential escape routes, but it turned out to only be Kathryn leaning imperiously against the wall and looking annoyed. “We’re leaving. You can eat in the car.”

Lia hurried after her, short legs working overtime to compensate for both her soreness and Kathryn’s much longer strides. “Someone’s a morning person,” she muttered.

Kathryn didn’t respond other than to gesture at the backseat for Lia to climb in. He settled in against the window and let Nicky’s excited chatter go in and out all the way to the gym.

Once there, Lia noticed two cars that hadn’t been there before. One was a convertible, which had to belong to Allison Reynolds. Allison had received some prestigious scholarships, but chose to train here instead. Lia couldn’t understand why; she would be the star elsewhere and have far more opportunities to actually compete. Still, it probably had something to do with the metaphorical leash attached to being a star and Lia understood that better than most people.

The other passenger was Steph Gordon, Allison’s sometimes girlfriend and one of Lia’s roommates. Steph was known for her power and athleticism, as well as her penchant for starting fights. The two of them together made a formidable pair and Lia was grateful that they were on the same team instead of competing. They had always been older, so Lia had never competed against them, but there was no doubt that they had earned their place on this team.

The other car in the lot was a large pickup truck that must have belonged to Mattie. Mattie was a direct counterpoint to Allison and Steph’s chilly demeanor. She was endlessly positive, and powerful. Mattie picked up the rest of the team’s, save Nicky’s, slack on the floor, with a combination of musicality, fun, and seriously powerful tumbling. With her abilities on vault and beam, she was one of the more diverse gymnasts on the team. 

Dan Wilds was the next member of the team. An effortless leader, she rallied the unruly forces of the Foxes to where they could be semi-cohesive. She was also extremely talented. Lia had looked up to her for her vaulting for years now, and was sure she could learn a great deal from Dan by watching her. If even Kathryn could respect her, it was clear that there was something special about their captain.

Finally, there was Renee Walker. Renee was the teammate Lia knew the least about, and therefore the one she was most wary about. Renee had come out of relative obscurity in the gymnastics world, not competing until she was older than most competitors. Her eerie calm made her an asset on the beam, and her bars were consistent, which made her a good counterpoint to Andrea’s wild demeanor. Still, Lia had never been able to trust people with as cool a mask as Renee’s so she planned on steering clear of her if at all possible.

They walked into the gym and the group of older gymnasts were already hard at work. Lia watched in awe as they worked on their respective rotations. Andrea’s group was talented, but this was cohesion. They may not bring the higher difficulty points, but their routines were clean. Kathryn obviously didn’t share Lia’s awe as she continued walking to the bleachers to set down her things and stretch out.

Mattie was the first one to notice their arrival as she finished a tumbling pass. She grabbed her water bottle and headed over to the new arrivals. 

“Hi! I’m Mattie, and you must be Lia, right? Everyone was going crazy when they figured out we scouted you. Dan’s gonna flip to have your vault on our team.”

“Hi, yeah. Who knows I’ve been scouted?”

Dan walked over at that moment and looped her arm through Mattie’s. “Just the team. We’re waiting for the reveal until our first comp. We figure it’ll rattle the other teams enough to get some bonus points. Dan Wilds,” she said, sticking her hand out.

Lia took her offered hand and said, “Lia Josten. But you know that.”

Dan raised an eyebrow. “New team, new name?”

Lia grimaced. “Something like that.”

“Can you show us what you got?”

Lia gestured behind her. “I’m stuck on trampoline duty for a while unfortunately.”

“That sucks. Can’t be too long though, right? We’ve got to get you in shape for October!”

Lia nodded and headed over to the trampoline. She observed Andrea and Renee cleaning off the bars together and talking. It was odd, the two of them conversing so easily, when Lia thought that their personalities would clash like oil and water.

“It’s weird right?” Lia jumped before realizing it was only Nicky behind her. “There’s a bet going that they’re a thing. Thoughts?”

“I don’t care as long as they get along well enough to help each other on bars.”

“Boring. You’re starting to sound like Kathryn.”

On cue, Kathryn yelled across the gym, “You two! Training! Move!”

Nicky laughed. “I must’ve jinkxed myself by saying her name out loud. Have fun on the trampoline!”

Lia sighed before once more bouncing and wishing she was over there. It would be a long week.

\--

By the end of the week, Lia was feeling good about her progress. She had managed to do a few twists without falling and was steadily feeling more consistent. She was anxious to get herself back on the equipment. Kathryn still didn’t look impressed, but Dan’s continued pleas about needing Lia to start now in order to be competition ready in October eventually won her over. With the stipulation that Lia stay late to practice with Kathryn and make up for lost time. Lia wouldn’t complain. If it got her where she needed to be, it was worth every second.

When the rest of the team left except for Lia, Kathryn, and Andrea, Lia headed straight for the vault until she heard Kathryn’s rebuke. “You can’t throw all your focus into one event. We have the others for that. If you want to be a contender in All Around, we have to use this time to build your weaker events.”

Lia stopped cold. “All Around? You seriously think I could place in All Around?”

Kathryn looked impatient instead of surprised. “Who else? You didn’t seriously think we brought you here to have another specialist? We have plenty of those.”

Lia’s silence was apparently answer enough, so Kathryn gestured for Lia to head to the bars. She made sure to use plenty of chalk, and winced as she thought of what she was about to put her hands through. Kathryn was there to spot, and helped raise her to where she could reach the high bar. 

“Only handstands and a simple dismount. I don’t want you getting injured doing anything else right now.”

Lia followed Kathryn’s advice and every swing was terrifying. There was a part of her that maintained muscle memory, but this had never been Lia’s event and it was the hardest to readjust to. She understood why Kathryn was so insistent on starting her here. 

As she dropped down, she saw Andrea watching with what was either thinly veiled contempt or her characteristic boredom. As Kathryn headed away to gather her belongings, Lia headed over to Andrea.

“Why do you like the bars?”

Andrea raised an eyebrow. “I don’t like them.”

Lia rolled her eyes. “Why do you practice them more than anything else.”

“Why should I tell you?”

“A truth for a truth?”

Andrea stared at Lia for an uncomfortable moment. “There’s nothing for you to give me I care about.”

“Then show me?”

Andrea sighed and Lia was sure that was the end of the conversation, but then Andrea got up and headed to the bars, waving off Kathryn’s questions. She got ready and swung around the bars a few times before jumping into her routine. It was every bit as violent as before, but seeing it up close brought a new angle to Lia’s understanding. She could see the concentration on Andrea’s face and also the slight tremor of her hands.

As she jumped off, Lia said, “You’re afraid of heights.”

“I’ll take my turn soon enough.”

It wasn’t an answer, but Lia knew she was right. It wasn’t satisfying because all the information did was add more questions. How ironic for someone afraid of heights to be involved in a sport centered around flying. Even more ironic was the fact that that was the aspect Lia loved most. She sighed and followed, knowing she could live a thousand lifetimes and never understand Andrea Minyard.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lia gets back on the equipment and the Foxes prepare for their first scrimmage.

Now that the entire team was together again, Lia quickly learned that the time for warmups and friendly chatter was over. She was still relegated to the trampoline, but since she was landing her tricks with more consistency and their first in-team scrimmage to see where they were at for the coming season was approaching. They had to put Lia on at some point or she wouldn’t be here.

The flip side of that was that whenever Kathryn wasn’t training herself, she was harping on Lia, trying to get to “point her toes more” or “tighten her knees together”. Lia finally had enough and told Kathryn where to shove it in the form of saying, “if you were half as worried about being up your own ass as you were mine, maybe you wouldn’t be on this laughingstock of a team.” Kathryn huffed and walked away, this time stopping at the bleachers to bark at Nicky about practicing on vault.

About halfway through practice, Coach signaled for her to stop and waved her over. She walked over, breathing heavily and taking a heavy sip from her water bottle. 

“Head over there. Nothing crazy. If I see you throw a trick you haven’t landed over here, I’ll make you march your happy ass over here until you do. But I want to see you on the equipment.”

Lia’s heart soared. She had missed the chalk, the feeling of the mat beneath her feet, everything. She had steadily started to use the equipment during night practices, but to have free rein to use anything she wanted at any time was enough to make her forget her aching limbs and head to the vault where she could run as fast as she wanted and fly as high as she could.

“It is just a piece of metal and padding.”

Lia spun around to see Andrea standing there. Lia knew she rarely practiced in front of the team, but after last night’s display it was still jarring and frustrating to see her standing there just observing.

“You really believe that?”

Andrea shrugged and looked at Lia for clarification.

“None of this means anything to you?”

“It’s a means to an end. A slightly less boring end.”

Lia swallowed hard against the bile in her throat. “That can’t be all there is.”

“Take it or leave it.”

Lia patted the vaulting table with determination. “I think I’ll leave it here.”

Andrea rolled her eyes. “Junkie.”

Lia didn’t dignify that with a response and headed backwards toward the chalk basin. She was keenly aware of Andrea’s eyes on her as the other girl leaned against the bleachers, but instead of the gaze making her nervous, it motivated her to show what she could do. She stood behind the line, bouncing on the balls of her feet, before throwing Andrea’s trademark salute in her face and hurtling down the runway at full speed.

She settled on doing a simple twist, knowing that if she screwed up a harder trick she wouldn’t get a second chance. She landed with a small hop, and knew without looking that Kathryn was scowling, but Lia was content. She wasn’t happy, because she knew she could do better and had done better, but this was a starting place. She had landed a vault off of the trampoline. 

Adrenaline coursed through her as she looked up to see Nicky and Mattie cheering and Dan and Renee smiling. The rest of the team seemed unresponsive, but she relished in having a team behind her, as unbelievable as it was. Even when she had her former career, it was always focused on her performance individually. There was never a connection with any of her teammates in the pro circuit. Now, she could focus on learning how to have people who wanted her to succeed as much as she wanted them to.

“All right, get your asses over here,” Coach yelled, gathering the Foxes over to him. “Next week we’re going to do an in-team meet so I can see what we’re working with here. I can only put up six of you on each event. I know you all know this, but I’m reminding you for Lia’s sake. Teams are: Kathryn, Dan, Allison, Renee and Mattie and Lia, Steph, Andrea, Erin and Nicky. Questions? Complaints?”

Steph coughed, “Yeah, I have a complaint. Why am I stuck with…”

“Great. I knew everyone would be happy and if you’re not, I don’t care. Be here tomorrow morning.”

Steph scowled and the upperclassmen hurried off, speaking in harsh, low tones. 

Kathryn walked over to Lia, looking irritatingly calm.

“Why did Coach separate us and put Steph with us?”

Kathryn shot her a cool look. “Your habit of being completely obtuse is getting extremely old. You know why.”

At Lia’s blank stare, Kathryn rolled her eyes and said “Each time has one specialist on each event and us at the head because we’re the most versatile and the most likely to compete in all four events.”

“I haven’t competed in a meet in years.”

Kathryn grabbed her chin. “Look at me. Do you trust me to know what’s best for your career?”

Lia stared her down.

Kathryn repeated herself. “Do you trust me?”

Lia thought back to years of watching Kathryn, of growing up at almost the same level, of seeing the pain in her face when she thought she’d never be able to compete, and forgave all the harsh criticism because of the look of determination in her eyes as she set herself up to come back.

“Yes. I trust you.”

Kathryn nodded, satisfied. “Good. Then give me your competition. Prove yourself next week. Show me that you can qualify and that you’re worth my time and I’ll help you be ready for all around at our first meet.”

“Okay,” Lia breathed.

Kathryn turned and headed for the locker room, but Lia waved her off when she gestured at her to follow. Instead, Lia headed for Andrea, who had already changed out and was fiddling with her keys by the side of the room. 

“Do I have to be worried about you being on my team next week or are you going to try?”

Andrea’s face split into a feral grin. “Oh, Lia. What reason do you have for me to do that?”

“If you don’t compete, you’re not going to go up during the meets.”

“And what a loss that would be.”

“I’m serious. Why are you here if you don’t want to compete?”

“I believe it’s my turn, not yours.”

“Are you going to take it?”

Andrea considered for a moment, before growing annoyed at Lia’s penetrating stare and turning her head away with two fingers. “No. I don’t think I am. See you at the meet.”

She took back her salute from Lia and walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, they compete for the first time against each other.


End file.
